Every summer. Every summer! My kids finally get out of school, it finally gets hot, and four seconds later, it’s July. Summer’s basically over. School supplies will be on sale any minute now. There’s no time to rest.

This summer, I had decided at the outset, we will miss nothing.

I declared it our Summer of Yes, meaning I would say yes to everything. Yes to invitations even if they butt up against other invitations. (We’ll do both!) Yes to early morning outings and late evening outings and out-of-the-way outings. (We’ll sleep in the fall!)

Yes to a new Slip ’N Slide. Yes to water balloon baseball. Yes to ice cream for lunch.

Ambitious? A little. Unrealistic? Completely. We’re trying it anyway.

I’ll let you in on a secret. You know the “yes, and” rule? It’s an improv technique (and the title of a book by Second City’s Kelly Leonard and Tom Yorton) that encourages you to collaborate and add to conversations, rather than stop them cold.

Good: “Can we have ice cream for lunch?” “Yes! And we can make sure we eat a vegetable or two tomorrow.”

I’m finding the “yes, and” approach to be a gigantic help for the Summer of Yes.

Yes, it’s July. And I’m still panicking. But we’ve managed to squeeze in a lot of fun so far, and I’m confident we can squeeze in quite a bit more before it’s time to start buying pre-sharpened No. 2 pencils.

Here’s how it works.

Let’s go to a Cubs game!

Yes! And if tickets are too expensive/sold out/only available on days we’re busy, we can go to a Chicago Dogs game instead!

The Chicago Dogs are a new American Association of Independent Professional Baseball team. They play at Impact Field in Rosemont, and parking is $3. I repeat: PARKING IS $3. We snared first-row seats for $12 to watch the Dogs play the Gary South Shore Railcats on a Monday night under a clear sky with the traffic of I-294 in front of us and the buzz of airplanes landing at O’Hare above us, and I don’t know, somehow it was completely charming. Maybe because the ball players are really, really good and the between-inning antics are a lot of fun (rock, paper, scissors, pie!) and parking is, as I mentioned, $3.

Let’s get Mario’s Italian Lemonade!

Yes! And if the line stretches down Taylor Street, which it will because it’s July, we can go to Freddies!

Don’t tell anyone, but Fabulous Freddies Italian Eatery in Bridgeport has house-made Italian ice that gives Mario’s a run for its money. A $2.50 small is big enough to share, although I don’t know why you would.

Let’s mini golf at Maggie Daley Park!

Yes! And if we don’t feel like the hassle of downtown during festival season, we can mini golf at Par-King!

My son and I have a running list of top 5 mini golf places. No. 1, I’m afraid, is in Pigeon Forge, Tenn. No. 2 was, until recently, Novelty Golf & Games in Lincolnwood. Then we tried Par-King Skill Golf in Lincolnshire, and well, it’s epic. A roller coaster that takes your golf ball for a ride, a mini Mount Rushmore, a roulette wheel. We still love you, Novelty. But you’ve been bumped to No. 3. (Maggie Daley, for the record, is No. 4.)

Let’s enjoy the view from Cindy’s Rooftop!

Yes! And if there’s a three-hour wait to eat at the (seriously stunning) Chicago Athletic Association Hotel spot overlooking Millennium Park and Lake Michigan, we can go to Waterfront Cafe!

Waterfront Cafe is a darling little gem of a place tucked behind the Berger Park Cultural Center in Rogers Park. The lake stretches to your east. The skyline beams to your south. Twinkly lights dangle above. Live music plays from a little stage. You’ll wonder why you haven’t been going there all along. (Good for you if you have.)

Let’s bike the lakefront!

Yes! And if we don’t feel like risking our lives among the speed demons, let’s bike the riverfront!

The North Shore Channel Trail is wide and paved and runs from Lincoln Square to Evanston. It winds along the Chicago River, past several playgrounds (perfect stopping points for little legs) and is typically far less crowded than the lakefront path and The 606, two beauties in their own right.

Let’s spend time as a family!

Yes! And even if one family member doesn’t want to do the thing you planned and another family member has a better offer from a friend and another family member has a bunch of deadlines, let’s set all that aside and spend time as a family anyway.

Will there be some complaining? Yes.

And will there be mosquitoes? Yes.

And will there be sunburns and stomachaches and forgotten baseball gloves and sibling spats and rain delays and traffic jams and other reminders that life is messy and imperfect even during the summer? Yes.

Ever find yourself scrolling through home-rental websites, day dreaming of a staycation or weekend getaway? Maybe you've flagged them with a heart or bookmark, saving them for easy viewing later when you're ready to book. We asked Airbnb about the most commonly "wish-listed" homes throughout Chicago. The results range from a Lincoln Park loft to a transformed garden apartment in Little Village and range from $65 to $109 a night. Two of the listings are Airbnb Plus, meaning they've passed an inspection to ensure they meet certain standards.

Although different, each of these rentals has one thing in common: It seems everyone wants to stay for a night.

(Susan Moskop)

Through triumphs and tears, here are 18 folks who inspired Balancing Act columnist Heidi Stevens the most in 2018.